Teach Me How to Love
by The 1000th Kiss
Summary: Collins wants to show Angel how much she means to him. Rated because it's RENT. Read and review, if you please.


**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

They had only met a mere twenty-four hours ago. And yet, they seemed to fit together so perfectly. Like pieces to a puzzle. They were, as had Angel described it to her best friend, "soul mates." It sounded right, but Collins still had a feeling that something was wrong. As he sat next to Angel, listening to her tell his friends about how they met and occasionally sipping his beer, he pondered over it. How could something that seemed so right be wrong? He didn't want it to be wrong. He really liked Angel. And, from what he could tell, she really liked him too. So what was the bad feeling about?

He suddenly felt a hand on his thigh. A short glance down confirmed that it was Angel's hand. Collins studied the mocha colored skin and the blue nail polish before his attention traveled to the kind face he had been relieved to see a short while after he'd been mugged the night before. He stared into the drag queens eyes and she smiled warmly at him. The anarchist returned the smile as the bad feeling became more apparent. He wasn't so sure it was a bad feeling anymore, but he so desperately wanted to know what is was.

"Hey, Collins!" Maureen shouted. Her voice completely interrupted Collins' thoughts. "Betcha' can't out drink me!"

"We've been down this road before, Mo," Collins said, smirking at his friend. "You already know that's not true."

"Come on! I wanna beat you! I know I can do it this time!" Collins chuckled and shook his head. Maureen was such a sore loser.

"You gotta find yourself some new competition, girl." Maureen folded her arms and sipped her beer somewhat angrily.

"I'll do it, Maureen!" Mimi exclaimed, causing the diva to perk up. The rest of their time at the Life Café was spent cheering for Maureen, Mimi, or both as they tried to drink more than the other. They were thrown out about a half hour later, but not before Maureen declared herself the winner of the contest. Joanne kept pleading with her to be quiet since it was getting late. Mark filmed her as she went on a drunken tirade about how she should be aloud to do whatever she wanted to because she was "fabulous."

"Collins," Angel said softly as she tapped Collins on the shoulder. He looked to her and tried to ignore the feeling as it began to rise again. "Would you like to stay with me tonight?"

"As in at your apartment?" Collins asked. Angel smiled and nodded. "Sure. I could sleep on the couch again like I did the other-"

"I insist you sleep in my bed," Angel interrupted. Collins' eyes widened and the feeling was starting to eat away at him. He was silent for a moment.

"In your bed?" he said. Angel nodded. "With you?" Angel nodded again and Collins looked at the ground. He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and felt his face get hot. "I-I don't know about that, Angel."

"Honey, it'll be okay," the drag queen told him. "We'll only be going to sleep, but . . . if we _feel _like doing something else, that'll be okay too. We're both adults." Angel looped her arm through one of Collins' and held onto it. The anarchist slowly brought his attention back to her. "What do you say?"

"Okay."

As Angel led him to her apartment, the feeling was beginning to remind Collins of a fly buzzing around his head. He couldn't figure it out and he couldn't shake it. It wasn't arousal, it was just general happiness and a bit of desire. The feeling swelled once they were in Angel's bedroom, shedding layers of clothing and climbing into bed. Angel gave Collins a gentle kiss on the lips and the two smiled at each other.

"I love kissing you," Angel said. Collins had to force himself not to gasp. That was it. That was what he was feeling. It was love. "Goodnight, honey." Angel turned her back to him, turned off the small lamp on the night stand next to the bed, and laid down.

"Goodnight, Angel," Collins replied. It was quiet for a short while. "Angel?"

"Hmm?"

"I feel . . . strange." Angel turned the lamp back on, sat up, and faced Collins.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, being here with you makes me feel weird." Angel's face fell.

"You don't want to be here with me, do you?" she asked. Her eyes were sad.

"Oh no!" Collins said. "It's not that! I just . . . I just feel something I've never really felt before whenever I'm around you."

"What do you feel?"

"Well, I think it could be love." Angel gasped softly. "But that's weird, I know. We've only known each other for-" Collins was cut off by Angel pressing her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she continued to kiss him. He returned the kiss, but kept his hands to himself. Angel took one of her arms from around Collins' neck and took one of his hands in hers. She guided the hand to her waist and then did the same with the other. She soon realized that Collins seemed uncomfortable with what was happening and broke the kiss.

"Honey, relax," she said, taking her arms from around Collins' neck. "You're so tense." Collins took his hands off of Angel's waist and avoided making eye contact with her.

"Angel . . . I don't know how to . . ." he broke off. He fell silent.

"You don't know how to what?" Angel pressed.

"I don't know how to . . . show you how I feel about you. I don't know . . . how to love."

"You don't?"

"No. I've never actually _been _loved, so I don't know what to do." A silence passed between them. "Will you teach me?"

"You want me to teach you how to love?" Collins nodded and Angel took his hand in hers. "It's not really something you can be taught, but I'll try. What would you like to learn?"

"Let's start with hand-holding." Angel looked down at their hands. "When is it appropriate to hold hands?"

"Honey, there's no appropriate or inappropriate time to hold hands. It's just a spur-of-the-moment thing couples do."

"Is there a specific moment?"

"'Spur-of-the-moment,' sweetheart." Collins gave an understanding nod.

"What about kissing?" he asked. "When should we do that?" Angel couldn't help smiling at how clueless and innocent Collins was. She grabbed his other hand and looked into his eyes.

"Collins, how exactly do you feel about me?" she asked. Collins looked down at their hands and thought for a moment.

"I love you." Angel let go of one of Collins' hands, put her hand under his chin, and lifted his head. She then moved her hand to his cheek and gently stroked it with her thumb.

"Can you say that while looking at me?" Collins removed Angel's hand from his cheek and held it. He kept his eyes on her face.

"I love you," he repeated. Angel smiled at him. "And I want to show you that, but I-"

"Just do whatever comes to mind," Angel interrupted. "Just follow your instincts. Do what feels right to you and I'll feel the love come from you, okay?" The two of them were still for a while before Collins slowly lifted one of Angel's hands to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. Angel smiled as he did the same to her other hand. He then leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"How am I doing?" he asked. His voice was full of hope.

"You're doing great, honey," Angel replied. Collins smiled and kissed her on the cheek. She yawned.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Collins asked. Angel simply nodded. Their hands separated and Angel turned the lamp off before they laid down.

"Goodnight, Collins," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Collins replied. It was quiet for a few seconds. "Angel?"

"Yes?"

"Would it be okay . . . if I held you?"

"Of course." Angel moved closer to Collins and snuggled up to him as he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and she gave a content sigh as she drifted off to sleep.

From then on, Collins tried his hardest to prove his love to Angel. He felt she deserved to be treated like a queen, so he transformed himself into the perfect gentleman whenever it was necessary. He held doors open for her, pulled chairs out for her, and gave her his coat when it she was cold. He even made sure he was closer to the curb when they took walks just in case a car hit a puddle. Each new thing that came to mind that seemed romantic to him, he made sure he did it.

"How am I doing?" he would ask. Angel would always smile and give a positive answer. He continued to show his love for her in any way he could think of, even when she was admitted to the hospital.

She lied in her bed, her health fading fast, and he stayed with her. He loved her and he was going to show her until her heart expired, until she couldn't hear his words anymore. He sang to her, whispered sweet nothings into her ear, pressed soft kisses to her forehead. When he was told she didn't have much time left, he felt his heart break. He had known she wouldn't leave the hospital alive for a while. Hearing it come from a doctor's mouth just made it official. Not quite ready to let her know what the doctor had said, he sat next to her on her bed and slowly wrapped his arms around her. He held her gently yet lovingly.

"How am I doing?" he whispered.

"Wonderfully, honey," she replied, her voice raspy. "Never let me go, okay?" Collins kissed her head and told her he would hold her forever. He knew she was going to be a literal angel soon and he knew it would crush him, but he was sure he wouldn't be sad forever. She had taught him to love with his mind, body, and soul. And with the newfound knowledge he had, he knew that Angel would always be with him.

"Angel?" he said.

"Yes?" his lover replied.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Teaching me how to love."

**Review please**


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